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I'm really a fan of this thing as a potential replacement for the A-10C since the USAF is hellbent on retiring the Hog. It's not a direct replacement, but it's
by commandar 12y ago
I'm really a fan of this thing as a potential replacement for the A-10C since the USAF is hellbent on retiring the Hog. It's not a direct replacement, but it's a better fit for the role than the F-35 would be and the things are so cheap that you could field a ton of them.
It's supposed to be a sub-$20M jet and I've seen cost per flight hour numbers in the range of $3-5000. In comparison, the A-10 runs around $15-20k/hour, the F-16 anywhere from $15-30k/hour depending on the numbers you can find, and the F-35 is reportedly around $30+/-5k.
- mikecb 12y agoIt might be cheap enough, and given the wings might have the loiter time, but can it carry the ordinance that an A-10 can? Certainly doesn't seem to have the same survivability characteristics either.
- commandar 12y agoNope. That's why I said it's not a direct replacement. The A-10 can carry a larger payload than the entire dry Scorpion airframe weighs. But it fills the slot better than the JSF which is just plain too fast a design to fill a loitering CAS role well. The fact that the Scorpion's so cheap to run means you could could sortie a lot more of them for the same cost as even a single A-10 (which is one of, if not the, cheapest to operate combat aircraft in the USAF inventory today).
- mikecb 12y agoAbsolutely. The idea that JSF can fill the role, even with UCAVs in support, is laughable.